The Rookie Crush

It's as predictable as the Mets' collapse each September: New year's Day passes and suddenly my gym is packed.

Scores of people bound (bound?) by New year's resolutions come streaming into the gym. And take up MY elliptical machine. OK it's not mine, but it is annoying to have all these people crowding the place for the first three months of the year.

I hear you. Sure, it's great that people have committed themselves to a healthier lifestyle. The thing is, the gym has a worse retention rate than the Branch Dividians. Most of these newbies will be gone by St. Patrick's Day.

It's almost like training camp for a sports team and you're an established player. You know you've got your spot on the team. Now, all these rookies are taking up locker room space and you're curious who's actually going to be able to make the team.

You can spot all these people a mile away, too. New workout clothes (nicer than mine) that are going to be used heavily until they start taking a place in the back of the drawer by April.

Anyhow, we just expanded our gym and it's gorgeous. There's plenty of room for equipment in the "old" area of the gym. I think they should set aside the old area as the "rookie" area. You only get to come to the big-kid gym when you've earned it.

And that way I won't have to wait for a treadmill anymore.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Among the employees of the gym in question this time of year is known as "tourist season". And it's rather painful. I teach uptown and it takes me 20 minutes to find a parking spot for my 30 minute lesson! And as I drive around and around and around, I notice that most of the people in the cars around me are severely overweight and I think to myself, "it's very cute that you are trying, but we both know you're not gonna make it." And then I dream about what hell will be like.
January 13, 2009 at 5:55 AM
Anonymous said…
Granted, I'd taken a rather extended leave of abscence from my gym before returning this January, but at least I was honestly working out when I returned. There were two women in front of me on elipiticals, just meandering along at the slowest possible pace. I saw them as I was headed out, standing near the weights and contemptlating them, but not actually touching them. By the time it got to Thursday last week, the gym was already half deserted and back to normal.
January 15, 2009 at 5:43 AM
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